UPDATE Sunday 8:30 a.m. – This story was updated after all Saturday results are final.
It was early on Championship Saturday that Ohio State’s road to the College Football Playoff appeared to be blocked. Texas’ win over Oklahoma State in the Big 12 championship game in Arlington, Texas, seemed to preclude any chance OSU had to back door its way into the playoff for the second year in a row.
ESPN will announce the four-team College Football Playoff at noon, with the rest of the New Year’s Six games due to be announced after 2 p.m.
The Buckeyes (11-1) dropped from second to sixth in the CFB Playoff rankings last week after their 30-24 regular season-ending loss to Michigan on Nov. 25 in Ann Arbor.
Going into this weekend’s conference championship games, Ohio State needed at least three different games to go their way to back door into the playoff for the second year in a row.
They got a positive result on Friday night as No. 3 Washington defeated No. 5 Oregon 34-31 in the Pac-12 championship game. That result puts Washington (13-0) squarely into the playoff and eliminates two-loss Oregon from contention.
The Buckeyes also needed No. 18 Oklahoma State to upset No. 7 Texas. But the Longhorns jumped ahead 35-14 at halftime and cruised to a 49-21 win. That victory makes Texas 12-1 and gives the Longhorns their first Big 12 title since 2009. They would be expected to jump to at least fifth and perhaps to fourth in the final CFB Playoff standings.
OSU also needed No. 1 Georgia (12-0) to hand No. 8 Alabama (11-1) its second loss in the SEC championship game. That did not happen as Alabama defeated Georgia 27-24.
The Buckeyes likely also needed No. 14 Louisville (10-2) to knock No. 4 Florida State (12-0) from the ranks of the unbeaten in the ACC championship game. That did not happen as FSU defeated Louisville 16-6.
In the Big Ten championship game, No. 2 Michigan (12-0) was going for a second consecutive 13-0 start and a third straight conference title and CFB Playoff berth with a win over No. 16 Iowa (10-2). The Wolverines gradually pulled away with a 26-0 win over the Hawkeyes.
Last year, Ohio State also lost its regular season finale to Michigan but at 11-1 the Buckeyes became the fourth seed in the CFB Playoff after Utah upset USC in the Pac-12 championship game. The Buckeyes then dropped their Peach Bowl national semifinal game to No. 1 Georgia 42-41 to finish 11-2.
The initial thought was Ohio State could get slotted in the Orange Bowl. The Orange is obligated to take an ACC team to face the highest ranked Big Ten or SEC team outside the playoff. OSU figures to be behind at least one SEC team and maybe two in the final rankings.
Possible destinations for Ohio State now include the Cotton Bowl (Dec. 29, 8 p.m.), Peach Bowl (Dec. 30, noon) or Fiesta Bowl (Jan. 1, 1 p.m.).
Opinions differ on how this is all going to shake out.
ESPN.com’s Heather Dinich projects the final six as 1. Michigan, 2. Washington, 3. Texas, 4. Alabama, 5. Georgia, 6. Florida State.
ESPN.com’s Kyle Bonagura and Mark Schlabach had differing opinions on the playoff field and the New Years’ Six. Bonagura has Michigan facing Texas in the Rose Bowl and Florida State against Washington in the Sugar Bowl. He also has Ohio State vs. Oregon in the Fiesta Bowl. Schlabach has Alabama vs. Michigan in the Rose Bowl and Texas vs. Washington in the Sugar Bowl. He has Ohio State facing Oregon in the Peach Bowl.
CBSSports.com’s Jerry Palm goes with Michigan vs. Texas in the Sugar Bowl and Washington vs. Florida State in the Rose Bowl. Palm then matches up Ohio State with Missouri in the Cotton Bowl.
Nobody asked us, but here is how I would slot the College Football Playoff and the New Years’ Six games:
* Rose: Michigan (1) vs. Alabama (4) – You can debate Michigan or Washington for No. 1. Alabama beat the previous No. 1 and won the SEC, beating Ole Miss and LSU as well along the way.
* Sugar: Washington (2) vs. Texas (3) – Texas beat Alabama, Kansas, Kansas State and now Oklahoma State.
* Orange: Florida State (5) vs. Georgia (6) – The rankings are immaterial, five or six. This seems to be the Orange Bowl match-up to me. It stinks for both teams. FSU will be the first unbeaten Power Five team left out of the playoff, but they are not one of the four best teams as of today. Plus, the only quality wins they have are LSU and Louisville. Georgia could well be one of the four best teams, but picked a bad time to lose a game. Their quality wins were Ole Miss and Missouri.
* Peach: Ole Miss (11) vs. Liberty (?) – I think Liberty at 13-0 deserves the Group of Five spot here instead of SMU (11-2)
* Cotton: Missouri (9) vs. Penn State (10) – Good match-up of 10-2 teams.
* Fiesta: Ohio State (7) vs. Oregon (8) – Preview of next year’s Big Ten match-up in Eugene.
Possible Opt Outs
With Ohio State missing the CFB Playoff, it is likely a number of draft-eligible players could opt to skip the bowl game.
Ohio State players ranked in the top 150 (roughly first four rounds) of the CBSSports.com draft prospect rankings include:
First Round
* WR Marvin Harrison Jr., No. 1 overall (junior eligible)
* DE J.T. Tuimoloau, No. 15 (junior eligible)
* WR Emeka Egbuka, No. 20 (junior eligible)
Second Round
* CB Denzel Burke, No. 36 (junior eligible)
* RB TreVeyon Henderson, No. 60 (junior eligible)
Third Round
* DT Tyleik Williams, No. 66 (junior eligible)
* DE Jack Sawyer, No. 69 (junior eligible)
* DT Michael Hall Jr., No. 72 (junior eligible)
Fourth Round
* TE Cade Stover, No. 100 (senior)
* LB Tommy Eichenberg, No. 105 (senior)
Stay tuned on Sunday for the Ohio State bowl announcement.
